Last
by Mournful Storms
Summary: Shikamaru is the last one left. And he won't forgive them for it. Deathfic


Each separate line is a song. One song for each team. Can you guess which songs they are?  
Um...I'm sorry for killing everyone?

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Kishimoto Masashi does. **What a pity.

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Shikamaru isn't sure when the Konoha Twelve had fallen apart. He had always thought they'd be together, sharing stories and laughing over ramen. He always thought they'd be friends, until he was left alone at the ramen stand.

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Here but now they're gone…

Sasuke had been the first to go. He was tempted by power, lured into Orochimaru's web. They had all fought for him, put their lives on the line one after another, but he never came back. There was no official notice of him becoming a missing-nin, nothing that said he couldn't come back, but they knew he was gone forever.

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And it was clear she couldn't go on…

Sakura had been next. The grief she carried had aged her. Ino had found her alone in her room, slumped on the windowsill. There were dried tears on her cheeks, and her hand rested against the kunai plunged in her heart. The picture of Team Seven in her other hand had fallen to the floor, and the glass cracked. Little shards littered the floor, glittering with false cheer.

_La la la…_

Naruto was gone after a few years. Silently, his friends had watched the blonde overwork himself, day after day. Naruto had pushed his limits until he couldn't push them any more. He died with a peaceful smile on his face, content that he tried so hard. Naruto had always wanted to become strong enough to take care of everyone's problems. His funeral had to be held at a no man's land joining Wind, Fire and Grass. People from around the continent traveled to be at his funeral.

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The candles blew, then disappeared…

Shikamaru isn't sure when the Konoha Twelve had fallen apart. They had lit candles, one for each of them. There were nine candles left before they had reached adulthood.

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We found her with her face down in the pillow…

It was dark, when he saw her face. Extinguished candles surrounded Hinata; a single flame guttered before going out. Hinata's hair covered any glimpse of her face, a small drop of moisture on the pillow beside her. There was a little hole in the fabric of her shirt and a senbon on the bedside table. In her hand, she clutched a crumpled picture of a whiskered blonde. White roses were placed in her coffin. So was the kunai Naruto had given her on her birthday.

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She broke his heart…

Kiba found Shino. His room was orderly and almost untouched, the bugs still crawling in their cages. A small note was pinned to the wall, saying, _My trump was discovered: I have nothing left to fight with. _He was slumped under it, small pill bottles littering the floor around him. They were all substances the Kikai would have found harmless.

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And when we buried him beneath the willow…

Kiba didn't get a funeral. His Clan considered the death to be dishonorable. Shikamaru can still remember the look of peace in Kiba's eyes, can still hear that small grunt of pain. He wonders if he could have stopped the boy, maybe if he had walked a little faster on his way to Chouji's. He will never forget how Kiba whispered to be buried beneath the willow Shino was under.

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Like the burnin' end of a midnight cigarette…

Shikamaru isn't sure when the Konoha Twelve had fallen apart. They had taken to smoking at New Year's. One cigarette for each person who was not with them on that day.

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With all the wishing in the world glistening in her eyes…

TenTen's death wasn't her fault. She came down with an incurable disease; something concocted by a foreign Shinobi had touched her. TenTen had told Shikamaru that she wished she could have told her friends to keep on living. Nobody could tell them anything now. Shikamaru had sat with her, making one paper crane for each wish they made. He could see all the cranes reflected in her eyes.

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Learn to lose, it's easier that way…

Lee had never really gotten used to the idea of death. Even nearing his mid-twenties, he found it hard to believe that all those people died. Shikamaru had seen him making remarks towards someone who suddenly wasn't there. He couldn't believe TenTen's loss. The death of his lover pushed him over the edge. Shikamaru had to read his note to everyone during the eulogy. _To my friends, I am sorry. The flame of youth had flickered and died within me: with my love's absence, I simply could not bear to burn so brightly with such darkness surrounding me. _It was the only funeral Neji ever allowed himself to cry at.

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That's how it is, and I'll see you later…

Shikamaru can't forgive Neji. He knows the man had taken that mission on purpose. Stricken with grief, Neji had accepted a mission far beyond his abilities. He didn't come back from it. They couldn't even find his body. Stacked in his bedroom, neatly in alphabetical order, there were letters to everybody. Beside it was a form passing his place as heir (received from Hinata) to Hanabi. Shikamaru's letter says that Neji knew he would get to meet the Nara again, perhaps in a reincarnation. It was their destiny. _Bullshit_.

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We've paid our dues, but we can't make life pay…

Shikamaru isn't sure when the Konoha Twelve had fallen apart. They had given it their best shot, trying until they couldn't try any more. Life just wasn't letting up.

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A certain look in the eye, and an easy smile…

Ino missed her friends. Shikamaru, with all his brains, didn't realize that until it was too late. He thinks back and notices that she had a look in her eye, something that wasn't quite right. Ino had snapped, pulling out a kunai and charging at the first person in sight. Ibiki wasn't able to fix her. Shikamaru has visited Ino once, and the smile that came to her face so readily had sent shivers down his spine. He hadn't expected any of them to go crazy, although it was a likely possibility and happened often to others. She was still in a cell somewhere below Konoha.

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Who was broken by trained personnel…

Chouji was captured a few days ago for torture. Shikamaru knows he won't be able to escape. Shikamaru knows that something would have happened eventually. Chouji was not himself after Ino's death. Shikamaru can only hope that his friend will go down fighting.

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And you believe at heart, everyone's a killer…

Maybe it would be easier to just kill himself, Shikamaru thinks. Maybe he could just take one of the kunai in the pouch beside him and plunge it into his heart. It would be so easy. Shikamaru feels bitter as he takes a swig of sake. The liquid burns his throat, but he ignores it angrily. Every one of them was a killer. His friends all died dishonorable deaths as Shinobi. He wishes he had simply not become a ninja in the first place. But he can't kill himself. Not yet. Shikamaru still has to finish the bottle of sake.

One swig for every friend who has betrayed him.


End file.
